page_title: Willem Boy
section_title: Churches
hierarchical_section_title: Willem Boy / Churches
context_page_description: Willem Boy was a Flemish painter, sculptor, and architect active in Sweden from around 1558 until his death.
  Few of Boy's works have survived, and he is mostly remembered for the sarcophagus of King Gustav I in the Uppsala Cathedral.
  He is believed to have originated from Mechelen and to have arrived in Sweden no later than 1558 during the late reign of Gustav Vasa to work as a painter of portraits. Within a few years he became one of the country's leading artists whose talents proved useful in a wide range of fields; he, for example, led the construction of the fortification at Vaxholm in 1589. Even though few of his works have survived, his influence on Swedish culture was considerable.
context_section_description: In 1581, the king ordered the city to add a tall and beautiful spire to the Riddarholmen Church. As the proposal delivered by the magistrate failed to impress the king, he turned to his favourite architect in 1584, and Boy finally had a proposal ready which pleased the king by 1589. The simple and narrow spire lasted until lightning destroyed it in 1835.
  King Eric also ordered two other churches to be constructed in the capital: one dedicated to St Henry and the other to the Holy Trinity. From contemporary accounts it is known the first was bought and used by the Finnish and German parishes in 1593. In a letter dated 1584 Boy is said to have led the construction work on St Thomas, and in a letter in 1588 the king orders Boy to decorate the western gable and add a tall spire without replacing the old one. The foundation for the Trinity was laid in 1589 to the plans of Boy but, by the death of the king in 1592, construction work had stopped, with the walls only reaching 6 feet above the ground. St Thomas was rebuilt and enlarged in the 17th century and still exists: Charles IX handed it over to the German parish who renamed it St Gertrude.
  Additionally, Boy is believed to be responsible for the design of John III's Renaissance reconstruction of St James's church in Stockholm, built around  1520–1592 and featuring a central nave flanked by two tall aisles resting on sandstone columns.
caption: Riddarholmskyrkan as presented in Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna, 1690-1700
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